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Chris Reyman, D.M.A.

Dr. Chris Reyman joined UTEP’s Music Department as an Assistant Professor of Commercial Piano in 2014. He received his BM in Commercial Music from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois and his MM and DMA in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has given presentations at the Illinois Music Teacher’s National Association; the Performing the World Conference in New York City; the 8th World Congress of the International Drama, Theatre and Education Association in Paris, France; in the communities of Juarez, Mexico; at the Guelph Jazz Festival and Colloquium in Ontario, Canada; the Texas Music Teachers Association; the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival and the College Music Society Rocky Mountain Chapter. In the April 2017, he was asked to give the keynote address at UTEP’s Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives symposium. Dr. Reyman is the co-founder of in2~improvise.play.live, an organization that empowers communities through improvisation and performance.

Dr. Reyman comes from a musical family and began performing professionally with his father at age fifteen. He was a self-motivated student of music and developed highly versatile skills primarily through improvising at the piano. He has performed throughout the United States and at festivals in Montreux, Switzerland; Den Haag, in the Netherlands; Toronto, Canada; Bali, Indonesia, Paris. France; Bogota, Colombia; Chihuahua, Mexico and throughout the Paso del Norte region. Recent performance credits include performances with Mark Dresser, Karrin Allyson, Vincent Herring, Bill Watrous and Clay Jenkins. His most recent project, the Koan Ensemble - a music and dance improvisation ensemble - was the recipient of a 2017 El Paso Museum and Cultural Affairs Department grant to give performances throughout the El Paso community.

Dr. Reyman is also a prolific composer, having written works for jazz ensembles, improvising ensembles and orchestras. He has completed scores for two award winning short films, Pigeon Impossible and The OceanMaker. In 2016, he completed music for Undocumented Freedom, a documentary film by Laura Bustillos; Memory Box, a short film by Angie Reza Tures; Storm Riders, an immersive film experience by the Austrian-based production company Attraktion!; redmoonwhitemoonbluemoon, a dance installation piece; and Song of the Starslayer, a feature-length film. Dr. Reyman recently completed commissions for the Austin Cinematic Symphony and the Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble, both of which will be premiered in 2017. His music has been heard at over 100 film festivals in 25 different countries. In 2014, he was invited to join the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Society due to his accomplishments as a musician and educator.